‘Considerable Interest’ in Rankin water-tower project expected

According to the Paxton Record, An engineer told the village board Thursday that he is expecting “a considerable amount of interest” from contractors in the restoration of Rankin’s water tower next year.

Greg Gustafson, an engineer for Urbana-based Berns, Clancy & Associates, said nine contractors had already picked up or been sent bid specifications for the work the project will entail. Gustafson said he also had spoken about the project with two others, including one that has assured him it would be submitting a bid.

Gustafson distributed to board members a project schedule that shows a pre-bid meeting on Jan. 15 and bid opening on Feb. 24, followed by a 10-day bid-review period. The project will be awarded during the board’s March 5 meeting.

The work is expected to be completed over a 60-day period, starting either in April or September and finishing either by June 1 or Nov. 1.

“Seasonally, they’ve got all of next year to do the work,” Gustafson said.

The village has budgeted $165,000 for the project, to be paid out of the water fund, Board President Aaron Warren said. Whether the village will need to raise water rates to cover the cost has not been determined, but that likely will be considered, Warren said.

The project will involve power-washing the water tower’s exterior, then spot-painting it. It will also involve some repainting on the interior of the “non-water-bearing” portion of the tower and doing a “full blast and paint job” to the “water-bearing” portion of the tower’s inside, Gustafson said. Warren said the work is being done to address surface rust discovered during a recent inspection.

The project also will involve repainting the letters that spell out “Rankin” on the exterior of the tower’s elevated tank.